


close your eyes and count to three

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Depression, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Love, M/M, Medication, Non-Linear Flashbacks, getting better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21500833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Why can't you just leave me the hell alone?""Because I love you!"~~Donghyuck slowly learns that Mark is able to love him even when he himself can't find any reasons to love anything.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 14
Kudos: 196





	close your eyes and count to three

_“Mom, don’t go”, Donghyuck pleas in the verge of tears, gripping the hem of his mother’s shirt with his two tiny hands._

_“Mommy needs to go to work. But mommy will come pick you up as soon as possible, okay honey? Can you be brave for mommy?” Donhyuck’s mother asks and kneels down to be on the same level as her son._

_Donghyuck pouts a little, but then answers quietly, “Okay”. He wants to be brave for his mother._

_“Good. Now give mommy a hug”, Mrs. Lee smiles and opens his arms. Donghyuck gives her a tight hug, feeling the tears welling up in his eyes again. When they pull apart, the kindergarten teacher takes a reassuring hold of Donghyuck’s hand, and together they watch as Donghyuck’s mother puts her shoes on and walks up to the front door._

_“Bye, bye!” Mrs. Lee smiles encouragingly and waves at her son. Donghyuck’s lifts his free hand and gives her a small wave back. Then Mrs. Lee exits the kindergarten, heading towards her workplace, and leaving Donghyuck to the daycare. It’s Donghyuck’s first day there. One tear manages to escape the corner of the little boy’s eye as he watches his mom leave._

_“Okay, Donghyuck, how about we go meet the others? You will get lots of new friends. And we have all of these really cool toys that you can play with. How that sounds?” the kindergarten teacher proposes to Donghyuck. She gives him a small smile, trying to show that the little boy can trust her._

_Donghyuck has to admit that the promise of being able to play with new toys is rather tempting. He nods carefully._

_They walk together from the hall to the playroom. There are a bunch of kids there and a couple of other kindergarten teachers. The room is big, the walls are painted with bright yellow color and decorated with drawings and paintings that the kids have done. The Legos and toy cars on the other side of the room immediately pick Donghyuck’s attention._

_“Hey, everybody! This is Donghyuck, say hi to him”, the kindergarten teacher says, still holding the hand of the little boy who starts to feel a little shy when all the eyes in the room turn to look at him._

_“Hi Donghyuck!” all the kids greet him in unison._

_“We want Donghyuck to feel welcomed, right everybody?”_

_“Yes!” comes the answers again in unison._

_“Good. So remember to include him into your plays and games”, the kindergarten teacher smiles and then she lets go of Donghyuck’s hand. The little boy lifts his unsure gaze to her, like asking what to do now._

_“Do you want to play with Legos?” she asks. Donghyuck nods quickly. He would love to play with Legos._

_“You can go over there and play with Legos with Mark. I’m sure he would like for you to go play with him”, the kindergarten teacher assures Donghyuck and points towards a black-haired little boy sitting on a red carpet, playing with Legos._

_“Okay”, Donghyuck answers and starts walking towards the other boy. If the teacher says that Mark wants to play with him then it must be true. She wouldn’t lie to him, right?_

_“Hello”, Donghyuck says when he stops at the edge of the red carpet._

_“Hi. Who are you?” the black-haired boy lifts his gaze on Donghyuck, his round, dark-brown eyes wide open as he looks at the little boy standing next to him._

_“I’m Donghyuck. Can I play with you?” Donghyuck asks, fiddling with his fingers are little._

_“Sure! You can sit here”, Mark points in front of himself on the carpet, “My name is Mark. I’m five years old. How old are you?”_

_“I’m four”, Donghyuck answers and sits down on the spot Mark had pointed at._

_“I’m older than you”, Mark says and smiles widely. There’s one tooth missing on the upper row of his teeth. Donghyuck remembers his mother telling him that when he gets a little bit older, his milk teeth will slowly come off and new, stronger teeth will grow to replace them. Then Donghyuck can give the milk teeth to a tooth fairy. He can’t wait._

_“Yes, but not very much”, Donghyuck says. He doesn’t want Mark to think that he’s too young to be the older’s friend._

_“True. What’s your favorite color, Donghyuck?”, Mark asks then._

_“It’s red”_

_“That’s good. Because mine is blue. You can have the red Legos”, the older says and reaches to take a small pile of red Legos to his hands and gives them to Donghyuck, “and I can take the blue Legos”, he then smiles proudly, already having divided all the Legos by their color._

_Donghyuck accepts the red Legos, his small smile turning into a wide, delighted one, “Thank you. And we can share the other colors”_

_Mark nods enthusiastically and then starts to share the other colored Legos, one by one putting them to two piles; one for Mark, one for Donghyuck._

_“Mark, are we friends now?” Donghyuck asks after a moment._

_“Of course”, the older says, like it was the most obvious thing in the world._

_Donghyuck smiles. Maybe it is._

  
~~~~~~~

  
Donghyuck’s phone starts ringing, the familiar and annoying sound of the alarm clock filling the quiet room.

Donghyuck groans and fumbles the phone into his hand, silencing the alarm as soon as possible. Then he drops the phone back on the mattress next to himself and closes his eyes again.

_I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to get up. I’m not getting up. I’m not getting up. I’m not getting up._

But then eventually Donghyuck opens his eyes again, moves the blanket off of himself and gets out of the bed. The apartment is cold. It’s always cold and it feels even colder now after having just woken up. Donghyuck uses the light from his phone screen to locate his hoodie that he pulls over his pajama top.

Donghyuck opens the curtains in front of the only window of his one-room apartment. It’s still dark outside. The streetlamps next to the apartment building share enough light for Donghyuck to be now able to see around in his apartment. He walks to the kitchenette area.

The water runs freezing cold from the tap when Donghyuck fills a glass for himself. He takes a pill from the medicine packet, a small white pill, puts it in his mouth and washes it down with the water. It has already become an every-morning routine, Donghyuck doesn’t need to put reminders for himself to do it anymore. 

The bright ceiling light of the bathroom blinds Donghyuck for a couple of seconds after flicking it on. Donghyuck does his business, brushes his teeth and washes his face. Then he looks at himself from the mirror. There are dark circles under his eyes, and a new pimple on his cheek, almost shining in its annoying white glory.

Donghyuck pops the pimple with paper-covered fingers, and then he smiles tiredly but encouragingly at his own reflection.

_You’re doing good._

The air outside is five times colder than it is in Donghyuck’s apartment. Donghyuck ties his scarf tighter around his neck and pushes his hands to the pockets of his winter coat. There has been a blizzard during the night and the streets haven’t been snow plowed yet.

Donghyuck’s feet sink to the soft snow, leaving his footprints behind as he makes his way to the university for his morning lecture.

After his three lectures of the day, Donghyuck stands in one of the lobbies in the university building, waiting for Mark. Students and members of the staff keep constantly rushing past him. The university is always busy.

Donghyuck is broken out of his reverie when he’s suddenly taken to a light, friendly headlock. Mark ruffles the younger’s hair with his free hand before letting him go again.

“Hey, Hyuckie”, Mark greets and grins at him.

Donghyuck swats the back of Mark’s head with his hand. A payback for the headlock and for messing Donghyuck’s hair.

“Hi, idiot”, he greets. He can’t help but to grin back.

Donghyuck loves how after everything, Mark still treats him the same way as ever and acts normally around him. And not as if Donghyuck was someone who could break at any moment. Donghyuck doesn’t need that.

“How was your day?” Mark asks as they walk through the doors and into the cold winter air. They exit the campus area and start walking along the sidewalk. The excessive snow has finally been snow plowed aside and remaining one on the ground crunches under their steps.

“It was fine. I held my presentation today, the one I was telling you about the other day, so that’s now luckily out of the way”, Donghyuck tells. It’s always a huge relief for him whenever he gets an assignment done.

“That’s good”, Mark smiles, “Oh, I need to tell you what happened during my free period! So, I was in the library, on the second floor at that good, secluded place, you know the one, when Lucas called me. Usually I wouldn’t start talking on the phone in library, but no one else was around so I answered...” he then starts telling a story. Donghyuck listens to him intently.

It always makes Donghyuck happy to see the excited glimmer in Mark’s eyes whenever the older starts telling something to Donghyuck. It doesn’t even have to be a big thing to get Mark all excited. Donghyuck really appreciates that attitude, and he himself is slowly trying to learn it too. Happiness can and should be found in little things.

Their walk isn’t very long and soon their destination, the health center, comes to the view. Donghyuck looks at the big building that has become rather familiar to him.

  
_“I can’t do this”, Donghyuck says and stops in his tracks. Mark, who has been walking next to him, still walks forward a few steps before he realizes that the younger has stopped moving. He turns to look at Donghyuck._

_“Yes, you can”, Mark says._

_Donghyuck stares at the health center building in front of them. They’re only a few dozen meters from the front door. Donghyuck doesn’t want to go in._

_“No, I can’t”_

_Up until now Donghyuck has been able to distract himself from what’s to come by chatting with Mark, but now the anxiety fills every cell in his body and he feels like he can’t breathe properly. He can’t do this. He can’t go talk to some stranger about his problems. They’re not going to take him seriously. Or they’re going to think he’s a complete basket case. Oh my God, they’re going to judge him--_

_“Donghyuck”, Mark says softly and reaches to take a hold of the younger’s hand, “We’ve talked about this. They’re not going to judge you, they will help you. And you deserve the help. You can do this”_

_Donghyuck doesn’t say anything, he just stares at the health center and feels how his heart is pounding in his chest._

_“And besides”, Mark continues, “If you go to your appointment now, it’ll be free since the school’s insurance pays for it, but if you skip your appointment, they will charge you the payment for the unused appointment. And your broke university student ass isn’t going to be able to afford that”_

_This emanates a small laugh out of Donghyuck. If Mark isn’t able to outsmart Donghyuck with emotions and common sense, he’ll do it with logic._

_“Okay, fine”, the younger says then after a moment. Mark gives him a proud smile and then tugs him moving again. They walk through the front doors and into the lobby, where Donghyuck checks in. Then they go to the right waiting room._

_Donghyuck’s right leg in bouncing up and down as he sits in a chair, waiting to be called to the room of the public health nurse. Mark’s hand is on his left leg, giving it a reassuring squeeze every now and then._

_Eventually, Donghyuck gets called in, and with almost numb legs he walks into the room, where he’s met with a young woman who works as one of the public health nurses in this health center._

_Donghyuck closes the door behind him, sits on the chair and for the first time ever shares his emotions and thoughts with a professional._

_“So..?” Mark starts when they finally exit the health center, “How did it go? How do you feel?”_

_“It was... A lot easier than I ever could have imagined. The nurse, she was really nice and calm. She took me seriously, but didn’t make too big of a deal about anything, like I tend to do myself. I got referrals to a doctor and to a psychiatric nurse”, Donghyuck tells. He takes a deep, proper breath, something that he’s been craving ever since this morning._

_He then smiles a little and says, “I feel relieved”_

  
Donghyuck is happy about the fact that his illness can be treated in the health center instead of a hospital. Health centers don’t smell like disinfectant and death like hospitals do.

Mark and Donghyuck are sitting in the waiting room. Donghyuck’s doctor should call him in any moment now. It’s again time to check up on how his medication has been working.

Donghyuck looks at Mark who’s sitting next to him. The older has opened his winter jacket and taken his beanie off. His cheeks are still a bit pink after the walk outside. Mark senses Donghyuck’s gaze on him and turns his head to look at the younger. They share a smile.

Donghyuck is beyond grateful for Mark. The older always accompanies him to the visits to the health center, even if Donghyuck is coming here pretty much every other week. Has been coming for a few months now. It’s always to see either a public health nurse, a psychiatric nurse or a doctor.

Nowadays it's a lot easier to come here than it was the first time, but it still gives Donghyuck a great deal of anxiety, so he's really glad that Mark comes with him.

Soon Donghyuck’s waiting number is being called and he gets up from the seat. Mark stays to wait. The younger walks to the doctor’s room. The familiar doctor smiles at him and greets him as he sits down. Donhyuck didn’t like her at first, she seemed really stuck up, but he guesses that they have now warmed up to each other.

“How have you been?” the doctor asks, a pen already in her hand, ready to take notes if needed.

Donghyuck smiles slightly, “Still not quite amazing, but a lot better”

  
_The knocking on the door of Donghyuck’s apartment won’t stop._

_Donghyuck huffs in irritation and gets up from his bed. He walks up to the door and yanks it open._

_“Finally!” Mark exclaims and pushes past Donghyuck and into the apartment._

_“What are you doing here? You can’t just barge in like that!” Donghyuck exclaims, panic now evident in his voice. He doesn’t want Mark in his apartment, not now. He doesn’t want the older to see it like this. Donghyuck pushes the door closed and rushes after Mark who’s now standing in the middle of the bedroom slash living room._

_“I’m here to talk to you”, Mark says._

_“Well, now is not a good time”_

_“Then when is a good time? Donghyuck seriously! I barely see you anymore!”_

_“What are you talking about, we see each other constantly. In campus, and whenever while we hang out with the guys, and-”_

_“Those are the_ only _times that I see you anymore. Briefly during lunches at the campus_ if you have shown up _and then occasionally whenever we meet with the others. Donghyuck, I know your schedule, I know you’re skipping classes constantly”_

_“What are you, a stalker?”, Donghyuck asks, now really annoyed._

_“I’m your best friend, and I’m worried about you. We used to hang out all the time, now I barely see you. You keep ignoring my texts and skipping your classes. You’re clearly lost weight and you always look so tired. It breaks my heart to see how hard you try to act like you’re fine whenever we see each other. Donghyuck, I know you almost better than I know myself, and I know that you’re not okay”_

_“Well, I don’t need your worry, I’m fine. So, if you could just now leave-”_

_“This apartment looks like a dump. Donghyuck, you’re not taking care of yourself”, there are clothes scattered all around the floors and the tables are gushing with stuff that has just been carelessly thrown on them. Dust bunnies are dancing on every bare surface possible and the piles of dirty dishes are probably soon going to start growing mildew._

_“That is none of your business”_

_“Stop shutting me out!” the desperation in Mark’s voice grows stronger by every second._

_“I’m not shutting you out, I just want to be alone right now”_

_“Donghyuck, please-”_

_“Why can’t you just leave me the hell alone!?” the frustration bubbling inside Donghyuck grows too strong and he suddenly shouts at Mark._

_“Because I love you!”_

_Mark’s loud answer freezes the both of them on their places. Neither of them expected those words to leave Mark’s mouth, at least not now. They stare at each other for a long time._

_Then eventually Mark breaks the silence._

_“Donghyuck, please talk to me”, he whispers in desperation._

_Somehow that finally does the trick and breaks the walls Donghyuck has been building up for so long. Donghyuck sits down on the edge of his bed and then the tears rush out of his eyes._

_“I’m... I'm just so tired. So fucking tired. Of everything”, Donghyuck says with a broken, tired voice. Mark sits down on the mattress next to him._

_“Nothing feels like anything anymore, I don’t want to do anything, I’m not interested in anything and I don’t get anything done. I just want to sleep, but no matter how much I sleep, I’m always tired”, Donghyuck takes a shaky breath, “And I'm sad. I’m always, always sad. I’m starting to think that it will never go away. The feeling of sadness”, he wipes the tears away from his cheeks._

_“Why haven’t you told me?” Mark whispers._

_“Because I’m so fucking ashamed”, a new set of tears fall from Donghyuck’s eyes and a light sob escapes from his lips._

_Mark moves closer to the younger and wraps his arms around him, “Donghyuck, there is nothing to be ashamed of. This is not your fault”_

_“And I know that! I know that, but it still doesn’t stop me from feeling like it is”, Donghyuck says, “I would never judge another person for having problems with their mental health, but somehow I just can’t stop judging myself”_

_“And I know that there is help out there to get, but I'm so terrified of reaching for it. Because what if they don’t take me seriously? Then I wouldn’t know what to do anymore. Or what if they do take me seriously? Because then they’ll give me a diagnosis and I'll feel like I have ‘depressed’ tattooed on my forehead. At least now whenever I feel a little better, I can still occasionally pretend like I don’t have a mental illness”_

_“Donghyuck, you can’t keep living like this”_

_“I know. I really can’t and I don’t want to. But I’m scared, Mark. I’m scared”_

_Mark hugs the younger tighter against his chest, “I know. But I’m here for you, Donghyuck. I’m always here for you. And I'll help you the best I can. We’ll get you an appointment to see somebody, I promise you they will take you seriously”_

_Donghyuck’s whole body is starting to lightly shake in Mark’s embrace, as the adrenaline rush caused by the sudden opening up starts to dissipate from his system. He’s wetting the fabric of the older’s shirt with his tears._

_“Donghyuck, can you please promise me something? Promise me that from now on, you will talk to me”_

_Donghyuck feels absolutely mortified of all that has just happened. But he can’t deny that he also feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, just by finally admitting his feelings to someone._

_He knows there is a long journey ahead of him, but at least he now feels like the only way left from here is up._

_“Okay, I promise”, Donghyuck whispers._

  
Donghyuck puts the prescription paper to his backpack, bids goodbyes to the doctor and leaves the room. He steps into the hallway and sees Mark already bundled up to his jacket, beanie and scarf again. The older waits until Donghyuck gets his outdoor wear on as well and then they leave the health center.

“I got a new prescription. The antidepressant is working, just not quite enough, so the doctor raised my daily dosage by five milligrams”, Donghyuck tells Mark.

“That’s good”, Mark smiles.

“Yep. Maybe I'll feel all happy-go-lucky soon”, Donghyuck muses, “Anyways, you want to accompany me still to the pharmacy as well?”

“Obviously”, Mark says like Donghyuck was stupid for even asking. Donghyuck has often hard time understanding how he can have deserved someone like Mark in his life.

They visit the pharmacy and Donghyuck buys his new happiness pills. Luckily he is one of those people to who antidepressants really do help. 

The snow has again started to fall from the sky when they step back onto the street.

  
_“So... you feel any different yet?” Mark asks carefully._

_Donghyuck lifts his gaze from his phone and looks at the older, “I’ve been taking the pills just for three days now. Mark, I told you that the doctor told me that it will take a couple of weeks for the medication to start working”_

_“Right”, the older says sheepishly, “Well, I'll ask you again in a couple of weeks”_

_“You do that”, Donghyuck smiles amusedly and turns his eyes back to his phone again._

_“I will. But in the meantime, I’m going to help you do the dishes and clean this apartment”, the older then says and gets up from Donghyuck’s bed where the two of them have been sitting on._

_“No, you don’t have to do that”, now Donghyuck drops his phone on the mattress and he, too, hops off the bed._

_“But I want to. You can’t live in the middle of this mess, it’s not healthy”, the older says and pushes Donghyuck back on the bed, “You do meditation or something, I'm going to start with the dishes”_

_A few short moment later, when Mark is busy doing the dishes in the kitchenette area, Donghyuck walks up to him. The younger wraps his arms around Mark and hugs the older from behind._

_“You’re the best, you know that, right?” Donghyuck whispers while leaning his head against Mark’s shoulder._

_There are three other words on the tip of the younger’s tongue that he almost wants to say, but he’s just not quite ready to do that yet._

_“Oh, I know”, Mark assures jokingly._

_Donghyuck lets out a little laugh._

  
The city is unusually quiet as Mark and Donghyuck make their way towards their apartments. The snowflakes falling from the sky are turning bigger and bigger by the minute. Perhaps another blizzard is coming for the next night as well.

Darkness has already replaced the daylight, and now the boys’ walk is illuminated by the glimmer of the snow and the yellow shine of the streetlights.

Donghyuck and Mark aren’t talking at the moment, haven’t been for a while. Donghyuck has been trying to gather his courage to ask Mark about something.

“Hey, Mark?”, the younger starts carefully.

“Yeah?” comes the immediate answer.

“Uhm... I don’t know how to ask this and not sound too blunt... but you remember a few months back when you somewhat accidentally shouted that you love me...?”

Mark halts in his step just for a second, before answering, “Yeah, I do”

“In what way did you mean it?”

Now Mark stops walking altogether and turns properly towards Donghyuck. The younger stops walking as well, now facing Mark. The snowflakes falling from the sky are sticking to their clothes, slowly painting them both with white.

“I meant it as in ‘I’m in love with you’”, Mark answers quietly, not breaking eye contact with Donghyuck.

That it exactly what Donghyuck wished to hear, but it doesn’t stop him from asking, “But why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“It’s just really hard to believe that you would actually be in love with me. Like, why would you choose _me_? I’m just some sad, unstable person who is fine on one day and then hating everything and everyone on the next one”

“Donghyuck, I'm in love with you because you’re the sweetest, funniest, the most annoying and the most beautiful person I have ever met. Your depression hasn’t changed that. Sure, you’re not always fine, but that’s okay. Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. You’re my best friend and I couldn’t even imagine of loving someone else. I’ve been in love with you for half of my life”

Donghyuck really wants to believe that, but it’s not as easy as it should be.

“Let me prove it to you”, the older then says. 

“Okay..”, Donghyuck answers, a little unsure.

Mark takes a step closer to the younger, giving him a small smile.

“You need to close your eyes and count to three”, the older then whispers.

A strong wave of déjà-vu and nostalgia rushes through Donghyuck’s veins. Then it gets slowly replaced by warm, tingling happiness as he closes his eyes. He can’t believe that Mark remembers.

“One..”

“Two..”

“Three”

Donghyuck feels a pair of soft, warm lips against his own. It’s just a short, sweet peck. It’s perfect.

The younger opens his eyes again. His whole face is slowly lighting up with a bright smile. Mark has taken a step back again, now looking at Donghyuck with his eyes twinkling with hope. Donghyuck reaches for him and wraps his arms around him, hugging the older tightly.

“I love you, Mark”

“I love you too. Be my boyfriend finally?”

“I will. Thank you for always being so patient with me”

They break the hug and Mark cups Donghyuck’s face between his hands. He smiles lovingly at the younger and says,

“You don’t need to thank me for that”

Then he presses another soft kiss on Donghyuck’s lips.

  
~~~~~~~

  
_“Mommy, come on!” Donghyuck whines impatiently, “Let’s go!”_

_Donghyuck’s mother lets out a small laugh and then grabs the car keys from the table. A little while back, Donghyuck was still crying whenever he had to go to the kindergarten, but nowadays he can’t wait to get there._

_They make the short drive to the kindergarten. Donghyuck lets himself free from the seatbelt and takes the bag of candy from the seat next to him. He’s really excited; it’s his birthday and that’s why he gets to bring candy to the daycare today. He’ll get to share them with everybody. Mrs. Lee comes to open the car door for him and then they walk across the yard and inside the kindergarten._

_Inside, Donghyuck hugs his mother quickly, before already rushing to the playroom. He gives the bag of candy to his favorite teacher; she’ll take care of it until the lunch has been eaten. Donghyuck knows they can’t eat candy before lunch._

_Mark's already in the playroom, playing with toy cars in one of the corners. There he can make the car drive along the floors and then along the walls, while making loud engine sounds with his mouth. Donghyuck skips happily to him._

_“Hey Mark! Guess what? Today is my birthday!” the younger announces to Mark, grinning widely._

_Mark stops his playing and looks at Donghyuck with his eyes blown wide, “Really?”_

_“Yes! I brought candy, we get to eat them after lunch”_

_Suddenly Mark’s surprised look turns into a sad one. Donghyuck’s smile drops as well._

_“What? Don’t you like candy?” he asks worriedly._

_“I love candy. But I'm sad because it’s your birthday and I don’t have a gift for you”, the older tells Donghyuck, his expression turning miserable._

_“Oh”, Donghyuck says. Now he understands why Mark is sad, “But that’s okay, Mark”, he then says, “You didn’t know that it’s my birthday”_

_“Yeah...”, the older says quietly, “But it still makes me sad. I want to give you a birthday gift”_

_“You can give me a birthday gift next year”, Donghyuck comforts Mark. He gives the older a bright smile and eventually Mark nods, he too now smiling a little._

_The day goes on. The boys play with toy cars and then with Legos. Everybody sings a birthday song to Donghyuck after the lunch and then they get to eat the candy._

_In the afternoon, all the kids and teachers in the kindergarten go outside. Donghyuck waits next to the swings while Mark is still inside putting his shoes on. Soon the older runs through the door and right up to Donghyuck._

_“Donghyuck!”, he exclaims enthusiastically, “Now I have it!”_

_“Have what?” the younger asks._

_“I have a birthday gift for you!”_

_Donghyuck is confused. How can Mark have gotten him suddenly a birthday gift, when they’re literally been together for the whole day. But Donghyuck’s also excited, he loves gifts._

_“I’m gonna give it to you right away. But you need to close your eyes and count to three”, the older then says._

_“Okay”, Donghyuck says closes his eyes, feeling all giddy._

_“One..”, the little boy starts._

_“Two..”_

_“Three”_

_Donghyuck feels Mark pressing a small kiss on his cheek. The younger opens his eyes again, a shy smile raising to his lips._

_“I’ve seen my dad kiss my mom and when I asked about it, he told me that when you love someone really much, you can give them a kiss. So I gave you a kiss as a gift because I love you really much”, Mark explains._

_“Thank you, Mark. I love you really much too. You’re my bestest friend in the whole world”, Donghyuck says happily._

_“You’re my bestest friend in the whole world too”_

**Author's Note:**

> If you're having problems with your mental health, please seek for help. Stay safe and happy everybody ♡
> 
> ~~
> 
> I hope that this wasn't too confusing to follow and that you liked it! Thank you so much for reading! ♡


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